In the quietness of my car this morning, I got to thinking about how good ordinary days can be when I make the effort to slow down, pay attention, and just be. I wanted to find a quote to use for an inspiration post tonight and came upon two very disparate examples. Author Katrina Kenison once wrote, “It has taken awhile, but I certainly do know it now – the most wonderful gift I had, the gift I finally learned to cherish above all else, was the gift of all those perfectly ordinary days.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe saw things quite differently: “One can stand anything except a succession of ordinary days.”
It really is all in how you look at things, isn’t it? If we focus on the smallness and the oft mundane nature of our days, if we insist on comparing our average, mediocre days to the occasional highs we all have or to the air-brushed glamour that’s ever-present on social media, it can be quite easy to be dissatisfied with ordinary. But switch that mind-set, choosing instead to focus on the gift of every breath, the peace that comes with being at ease in everyday life, and the pure joy of spending time – even boring time – with those we love and, all of a sudden, there is magic in the ordinary! I so want to see life like that, every day.
May we learn to focus on the beauty of the small and ordinary.
365 Days of Grace 